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Straits Times
21-05-2025
- General
- Straits Times
500 Yale-NUS books disposed, remaining 8,500 to be given away at book fairs
In an earlier statement on May 21, NUS had apologised for not offering the excess library books to students before they were sent for disposal. PHOTOS: ST READER, COURTESY OF MS LEE JIAYING 500 Yale-NUS books disposed, remaining 8,500 to be given away at book fairs SINGAPORE - A total of 500 books were taken away to be recycled, making up about 1 per cent of the total number of books in the Yale-NUS library. Speaking to the media on May 21, NUS university librarian Natalie Pang said that 9,000 out of the total number of 45,000 books in the college's library were duplicates or had 'low utilisation rate'. The plan was to recycle these 9,000 books, as per the standard operating processes for NUS libraries when excess titles cannot be rehomed or given away. The process for the remaining 8,500 books has since been halted since photos and videos of employees from a recycling company loading the books onto a truck had circulated online on May 20, drawing sharp criticism from alumni and members of the public who called the disposal wasteful and distressing. NUS provost Aaron Thean told the media: 'NUS houses about 4 million volumes of books... this is a big collection. So any loss of books to us is always heartbreaking.' 'All these books mean a lot to us,' he said, adding that the university will find new owners for the books at upcoming book fairs. Associate Professor Pang said that the two book fairs will be held in May and June. These will be open to all NUS students, alumni and to members of the public, she added, with details to be announced soon. She confirmed that the 500 books taken from Yale-NUS College on May 20 have since been disposed of. Going forward, the university will introduce a new process for excess books, she said. It currently first offers excess books to faculty members, rehomes them across its libraries, or offers them to other academic institutions. Recycling is always a 'last resort', she said. NUS now has seven libraries. Under the new process, NUS will reach out 'more extensively' to faculty and other academic libraries, and will hold book adoption fairs for its students and alumni, as well as the public. If the books are still not able to be rehomed, the university will work with second hand bookshops like Thryft, a thrift store based in Singapore for preloved books and other items. 'What I'm trying to do with this new standard operating procedure is to extend the shelf life of these books,' Prof Pang said. ' We did not realise there was interest from students , and we did not actually make enough arrangements to actually allow students to have the opportunity to own those books,' she said, apologising for not extensively reaching out to faculty. 'I think there's no two ways about it,' she said. 'We have to own it, and we will do better.' Piles of plastic bags containing books were spotted outside the Yale-NUS College library on May 20, prompting questions and concern from alumni. PHOTO: ST READER In an earlier statement on May 21, NUS had apologised for not offering the excess library books to students before they were sent for disposal, calling it an 'operational lapse'. Prof Pang said the university had tried to contact the recycling company, Green Orange Enviro, at around 2pm on May 20 to request that the truck return the books , after learning of students' interest. However, the company declined, even after the university offered payment and manpower to help sort the books. Yale-NUS College's last cohort graduated on May 14. The liberal arts institution, founded in 2011 through a partnership between Yale University and NUS, is being closed following an announcement in 2021 of its merger with NUS' University Scholars Programme. With the closure of Yale-NUS College, preparations to rehome its library books had been underway for about two years, Prof Pang said, adding that while the university routinely manages its library collection, the scale of this exercise was 'significantly larger' than usual. She also clarified that the books were not donated because the library was not aware of students' interest, not because of any issue involving the books' RFID tags - as claimed by some library staff at the scene on May 20, according to students' accounts. 'In the past, in our experience organising these book giveaways - whether it's for students or members of the NUS community, be it staff or faculty, there's been quite a low demand for many of these titles that we put out,' Prof Pang said. 'But, this incident has also shown us that there are lessons to learn from this,' she added. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Straits Times
20-05-2025
- General
- Straits Times
Hundreds of Yale-NUS books discarded, sparking concerns among alumni over waste and loss
Piles of plastic bags containing books were spotted outside the Yale-NUS College library on May 20, prompting questions and concern from students and alumni. PHOTOS: ST READER, COURTESY OF MS LEE JIAYING SINGAPORE - Piles of plastic bags containing books at Yale-NUS College were seen being taken away by a recycling company on May 20, prompting questions and concern from alumni over what they see as a waste of academic resources. The books, tightly packed in translucent white plastic bags, were stacked at the pavement of the college's drop-off point located next to the National University of Singapore (NUS) University Town in Kent Ridge. Yale-NUS alumni told The Straits Times that the materials were being cleared by Green Orange Enviro, a recycling company. Two of its employees were seen loading the bags onto a truck in the early afternoon. The incident comes after the final weeks of Yale-NUS College's existence, as its last cohort graduated on May 14. The liberal arts institution, founded in 2011 through a partnership between Yale University and NUS, is being closed following an announcement in 2021 of its merger with NUS' University Scholars Programme. One of the employees of the recycling company, who declined to be named, told ST they were at the campus at 12pm to clear the bags of books. He added that the books were being taken to Asia Recycling, a recycling facility in Jurong, to be shredded. Asia Recycling specialises in the recycling of paper, plastic, metal, electronics and lead acid batteries. The employee said that around 60 to 70 bags were cleared, each weighing between 10kg and 15 kg. He added that one student tried to take a bag of books away, but was stopped by a member of the school management. The reason behind the disposal of the books remains unclear. But the sight of books being discarded publicly sparked criticism and sadness among Yale-NUS alumni, some of whom have taken to online forums to express their disappointment. Piles of plastic bags containing books were spotted outside the Yale-NUS College library on May 20, prompting questions and concern from students and alumni. PHOTO: ST READER The Straits Times has reached out to Yale-NUS and NUS for more information. Ms Avery Huang, 23, a Yale-NUS anthropology major who graduated in 2025 and who was at the scene, said she tried to speak to NUS librarians to stop them. 'I found it heartbreaking that these books, which are in perfectly good condition, are being thrown away.' She added: 'It boils down to how much they care about the books and the taxpayers' money they've used and are now throwing away.' Ms Lee Jiaying, 21, who was part of the final Yale-NUS batch of students, rushed down to the main entrance at 11.20am after getting a text and seeing photos of bags of books at the driveway. 'These books were in brand-new, mostly untouched condition, on all kinds of popular fiction, non-fiction and academic genres,' Ms Lee said, adding that she recognised some hardcover books that retail for more than $60 in the pile. Library staff had also explained that books were being discarded as they were duplicates, contained 'NUS RFID' tags and for security reasons, were not allowed to be circulated, she said, adding that library staff also had a short timeline to decide what to do with the books. The reason behind the disposal of the books remains unclear. PHOTO: ST READER 'They felt they had no viable alternative and decided to dispose them through a waste facility,' she added. The disposal felt sudden and abrupt for students, Ms Lee said. 'I felt heartbroken, seeing an unbelievable number of expensive books—many in near-perfect condition—being so carelessly discarded. It was painful to watch them thrown around like that.' 'Books are precious educational resources for communities to enjoy. In the right hands, they could have been thoughtfully cared for,' Ms Lee said. 'I know many Singaporeans who put in great effort to salvage and give second-hand books a new home. 'Yet today, it felt like an entire store's worth of books was discarded out of administrative convenience. These books could have benefited those who cannot afford to buy them, members of the public who value shared resources, and curious minds who would have deeply appreciated them.' In text messages seen by The Straits Times, some senior Yale-NUS alumni said they had tried to organise a donation drive or giveaway for the books, but were told that it was not possible for reasons involving the security tag attached to these books. One Yale-NUS alumnus, who wanted to be known only as Ms Yin, said: 'I feel that NUS, as a global leading institution, should be able to recognise the scarcity and preciousness of intellectual resources like books. 'While there may have been issues of labour and manpower to, say, remove RFID chips on the book, I believe that we had a lot of students who were willing to volunteer their time to allow for some salvaging of books,' the 26-year-old added. Ms Kristina Gweneth Simundo, 23, who graduated from Yale-NUS in 2024, said she felt anger and grief at this 'opaque and top-down decision' by NUS. 'When institutions destroy knowledge so casually, they signal a disturbing disregard for memory, inquiry and the future of learning itself.' Gabrielle Chan is a journalist at The Straits Times, and covers everything related to education in Singapore. Shawn Hoo is a journalist on the arts beat at The Straits Times. He covers books, theatre and the visual arts. 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